Australian rental statistics highlighted for potential investors

By the resi financial blog team, 03 October 2013

Becoming a property investor means investigating the various elements that affect the real estate market, and making calculated decisions about the future of your profits. A number of different things can affect the market, including the performance of rental markets throughout the country.

These trends have been marked by the Australian Property Investor magazine, which has highlighted a number of interesting movements - including the reasons people rent and the types of property they prefer.

According to the release, while the nuclear family is still currently the most common household type across Australia (33 per cent), this is set to change with Generation Y.

The shift in attitudes towards family means that this generation, who currently take up 30 per cent of the property market, are putting off having children until their 30s - creating an extra decade without a generation of children.

Generation Y is also more likely to rent, with their career-focused goals taking the driver's seat. This could be valuable information for anyone considering taking out an investment loan in the near future.

Watching for areas where rental vacancies are decreasing, especially in capital cities, could provide insight into valuable investment opportunities.

Another significant factor to consider is the rate of overseas migration, which makes up 60 per cent of the annual population growth across the nation. Founder of SQM Research, Louis Christopher, said that the net migration for the last 12 months was around 400,000 people - or two times to population of Darwin every year.

"When new arrivals settle, they tend to gravitate towards middle and outer suburbs in capital cities, close to sought-after amenities and services, and they’ll almost certainly rent," said Mr Christopher in a September 23 statement.

Taking this information to heart could help to turn a decent property investment prospect into an excellent one heading into the future.